Help! I need Somebody! Help!

[Bruce Caldwell]

Mecham My 3 cents worth


I agree with the above posters on the bottom arm killing your swing.
Sometimes you can break this habit by moving the bottom hand closer to the top hand by a few inches. Also strive like you are going to grap a limb which is over your head, not one in front of you. Kind of like a chimp hanging from tree to tree but swinging up.

I also think you might be 1 fist to high on the grip for that run up due to you being in the bucket
Both of the above problems result in the hips being in the bucket position and you are not in a position to roll the pole and take advantage of the pop it has.
Work on both of these things and see if you have a better day on the same pole. Shorter pole jumps can bring your timing back but you must move back to the longer pole properly or you wil be out of sync again.
If by doing these things you ar eunable to bend the pole as this makes it too stiff, you are on too stiff or too long of a pole. Good video love to see more of your jumps in a week
Bruce

[altius]

You have had a lot of good advice . I cant get your video up - just a load of arabic! Only thing i would add is that if you want the bottom arm to function properly you need to ensure that at take off you can look 'through the gap' between your arms, this means that the bottom elbow must be rotated slighly outwards - ditto the bottom hand on the pole. This will allow the arm to flex under control - instead of pushing into the pole -as it will if your arm is directly in front of your face at take off.

The arm does not collapse!! but better to do that than to resist to hard.

Think of the arm as an elastic steel cable.

[USMC Vaulter]

The arm does not collapse!! but better to do that than to resist to hard.

Think of the arm as an elastic steel cable.

Ok - so not to start trouble - but I'm not sure what you mean by this.

If you look at Bubka's bottom arm in this picture...

it definitely isnt extended - so therefore we say it is collapsed.
If its not collapsed then what terminology should we use? Are you saying that we shouldnt use the word collapse because it implies a passive action? (where in fact the bottom arm is constantly working)
It sounds alot like semantics to me - and I worry that this could end up being more confusing/detrimental to some athletes than being helpful.

Can you please explain what you meant by that statement. The more I learn the more I'm able to help both myself and my vaulters.
Thanks again for all your time and posts altius.

[Mecham]

If you cant see the video, download the free version of quicktime at www.apple.com/quicktime
but i will post a .mov file and maybe even a .wmv file today

Gosh i love Apple!

[BadMotherVaulter]

You look identical to me in that video! My coach today said that i've got it in me, but i just cant rock back. I think it might have to do with my bottom arm, but i donno, i need to see a video.

So whats some good tips on swinging all the way through and getting my legs and hips up instead of out?